How do you say "history" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "history" is 歴史 (rekishi). It is a noun pronounced "reh-kee-shee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of history from Noun Town

Pronunciation

歴史 is written in kanji. Romanised as rekishi, it sounds roughly like "reh-kee-shee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

歴史はどこにありますか?

Rekishi wa doko ni arimasu ka?

Where is the history?

Usage notes

Rekishi (歴史) is the Japanese word for history. This noun appears in everyday contexts across homes, offices, schools, and public spaces.

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Questions about 歴史

How do you pronounce 歴史?

歴史 is romanised as rekishi. Say it roughly like "reh-kee-shee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 歴史 formal or casual?

歴史 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 歴史 written in Japanese?

歴史 is written using kanji. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.